The Maintenance of the U.S. Racial Hierarchy Through Judgments of Multiracial People Based on Proximity to Whiteness.

The article investigates how multiracial groups in the United States are perceived within the racial hierarchy, focusing on the role of White ancestry as a marker of proximity to Whiteness—a system linking White racial identity to power, status, and privilege. Across three studies, multiracial groups with White ancestry (e.g., Black/White, Asian/White) were consistently rated higher in social status, competence, and warmth than both monoracial minority groups and multiracial groups with dual minority ancestry (e.g., Black/Latinx). These findings suggest that rather than blurring racial boundaries and reducing racism, the growing multiracial population may reinforce existing racial hierarchies by extending some privileges of Whiteness to multiracial individuals with White ancestry, while subordinating others. The research highlights that status perceptions are mediated by stereotypes of competence and warmth and underscores the need for active anti-racist interventions to challenge persistent racial inequalities.